Apparatus for drying hair



Fdwo 22 119% E. ELDER AI PARATUS FOR DRYING HAIR Filed Aug. 6, 1945 uvmvroa. er 1?. Elder ATTORNEY I Patented Feb. 22, 1949 2,462,079 APPARATUS FOR DRYING HAIR Esther R. Elder, Pasadena, Calif., assignor of forty per cent to William R. Harriman, Hondo, ten per cent to Esther Anne Harrington, Pasadena, and ten per cent to Mary Ellen Peachman,

San Francisco, Calif.

- Application August .6, 1945, Serial No. 609,143

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a method and apparatus for drying hair. An object of the invention is to provide a method of and means for mixing anhydrous gas with heated, moisture-laden air that is drawn from the hair being dried and then to re-circulate the mixture on to such hair.

Another object is toprovide a method of and means for positively circulating moisture-laden air in a substantially closed circuit from the hair being dried past heating means and back to the hair again, in combination with means .to introduce anhydrous gas into the circuit in a manner for the heating means to aid in the thorough intermingling of such gas with the moisture-laden air.

Still further objects are to provide such a method and apparatus that will dry a person's hair with a minimum of heat and'in a minimum length of time.

My invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description. However, the drawings merely show and the following description merely describes one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

Reference is made to my co-pending applications, Serial Nos. 569,025, now Patent No. 2,443,610 and 569,026, filed December 20, 1944, the latter now Patent No. 2,441,138, for subject-matter shown but not claimed herein.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of an apparatus that embodies the foregoing objects and carries out the aforementioned methods.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through a head element comprised in the invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the head element shown in section in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a broken, rear elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the reference number 5 indicates a base upon which a standard 6 is mounted. A socket I is also provided on the base 5 for a tank 8 of liquified gas which when gasified, is of an anhydrous nature. A valve 9 is connected by a union l and pipe l2 with a manual valve l3 on the tank 8. The valve 9 is in turn connected with a flexible hose M.

The valve 9 is operated by a shaft l journaled on the standard 6 and on a counter standard l8.

The construction of a suitable valve 9 and its manner of operation by the rotating shaft l5 to and from on and off positions are weliknown to those skilled in the art, so further illustration and description are believed unnecessary.

Convenient means for operating the valve 3 may include a wide variety of methods. The means suggested in the drawings, which is by no means exclusive, is a chain H on sprockets l8 and IS. The sprocket I8 is fastened on the shaft l5, while the sprocket I9 is pivotally mounted on the outer end of a bar 20. A crank 2| operatively controls the sprocket IS. The crank is conveniently arranged for actuation by the user.

A hood 22 for the users head comprises inner and outer shells 23 and 24, respectively, that are spaced from each other to provide a downwardly inclined, annular passage 25 therebetween, and connected by a bottom 55 to close the passage 25 at the lower end thereof. A short distance above such bottom 55 a series of ports 26 is arranged around the inner shell. The ports are so sized to procure the desired ratio of fresh and re-cirgulated gas and air to different parts of the user's ead.

A small electric motor 21 is mounted at the top of the shells with a fan 28, operated by the motor, arranged in a port 29 in the inner shell. A bai'lie 30 is disposed over the fan, with a series of small ports 3| between the baffle 30 and the inner face of the shell 23. The bafiie prevents a persons hair from becoming entangled in the fan.

A housing 32 encloses the motor 21 and is suitably vented, as suggested at 33, for the escape of heated air from around the motor. A flange 34 on the motor fits snugly in the outer shell 24, so that air driven upwardly by the fan 28 will not escape through the vents 33 but will be forced downward in the annular passage 25. An electric cord for the motor is shown at 35.

A supporting arm 37 on the hood 22 is pivotally supported in a yoke 36 on the standard iii. A stop 38 limits downward swinging movement of the hood 22, while a counterweight 39 may be used to rearw'ardly offset at least part of the weight of the hood.

A vent is provided at 40 for the annular passage 25. It is preferably disposed at the rear of the hood 22. A manifold 4| extends around the hood 22. A nipple 42 on the manifold 4| connects with the flexible hose l4, while a plurality of ports 43 spaced all the way around the outer shell 24 within the manifold, admits gas from the manifold into the passage 25.

Heating coils 44 and 45 are arranged at opposite sides of the ports 43, so that the moistureladen air coming downward in the passage 25 is heated before it is intermingled with the anhydrous gas from the hose l4 and the mixed moisture-laden air and anhydrous gas are thereupon 3 forced through the next heater 4! so that further intermingling of such materials is more throughly eifected; as well as being further heated. The vent 40 is preferably arranged ahead of the heating elements.

In the operation of my present apparatus, the hood 22 is swung over to a position above and around the users head. The stop 38 limits the downward swinging movement of the hood. The motor 21 is started to draw moisture-laden air from around the users head, which air is forced downward in the annular passa e 25 past the upper heaters 44. Thereupon anhydrous gas is introduced into the heated. moisture-laden air to absorb moisturetherefrom. The mixture is then passed through the lower heater 45 for further heatin and then discharged through the ports 26 to' the desired areas around the users head, and then the cycle is begun again. The vent 40 permits the escape of moisture-laden air ahead of heating same and ahead of mixing it with the anhydrous gas, in the cycle of operation.

Since the anhydrous gas has a cooling efiect, it is desirable that the user be able to control the introduction of such gas into the hood. Any suitable means may be employed. The valve 9 is suggested as a suitable means. The chain i1, sprockets i 8 and I9, and crank 2i comprise con trol means for the valve 9, so the user can reduce the amount of anhydrous gas when the effect is too cooling, or increase the amount of such gas when faster cooling is desired. The manifold ll distributes the gas around the hood so that'only small jets thereof are introduced through the ports 43 intothe space between the heaters 44 and 45. These jets of anhydrous gas are substantially at right angles to the stream of heated moisture-laden air' moving downward in the passage 25.v This angularity of the gaseous streams, together with the partial diversion by the coils efiects intermingling of the different gases.

While I have illustrated and described what I now regard as the preferred embodiment of my invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. I, therefore, do not wish to restrict myself to the particular form of construction illustrated and. described, but

desire to avail myself of all modifications that may fall within the-scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a hair drier, a hood having a space for the users head and comprising-an inner and an outer shell defining a downwardly extending, annular passage, the inner shell having an opening spaced from the edge of the hood, motordriven air-moving means in said inner shell arranged to move air through said opening in a circuit through the passage and said space, a

series of ports in the outer shell at least part way around the hood, a manifold over the ports, means to supply anhydrous gas connected with the manifold, the ports being arranged to project jets of the anhydrous gas crosswise of the movement of air in the circuit, and heating means disposed to heat fluid in the passage.

2. In a device of the character referred to. shaped inner and outer shells connected in spaced relation to provide a downwardly extending annular passage, said inner shell providing a space or the user's head and having a plurality of ports near the bottom thereof and an opening spaced from the edge of the hood, and the outer shell having a plurality of jets communicating with said passage and provided with a manifold covering said jets, means to supply a drying gas to said manifold, means to heat said gas in said passage, and means to move a fluid from the space around the head, through the mentioned opening in the inner shell, into said passage and past said heating means and in a direction to inter-mix said gas with said fluid and then dispense said mixture through the ports in the inner shell and about the head of the user.

3. In a hair drier, a hood having a space for the users head and comprising outer and inner walls defining a downwardly extending annular passage therebetween, said inner wall having a substantially central opening, motor-driven airmoving means carried by the outer wall and operating in said opening to move air from the interior of the hood to said annular pasasge through said opening, said inner wall, adjacent the open edge of the hood, having ports therein for circulating the air in the passage back to the hood interior, said outer wall having ports smaller than the ports in the inner wall, an enclosing manifold for the smaller ports, means to heat fluid in the air moving in the annular passage, and means to supply anhydrous gas to said manifold for injection through the smaller ports into said passage at a point ahead of the position of the heating means and in the direction of movement of the air in said passage.

4. A hair drier comprising, in combination, a supply of anhydrous gas; a hood formed of spaced inner and outer shells and adapted to encompass the head of a user, the outer shell having jet ports and the inner shell having openings; a connection from said supply to said ports for conducting gas to the space between the hood shells; a valve in said connection; mechanism connected to the valve and extending to a point whereby the same is adapted to be operated by said user to control the flow of gas; means carried by the hood and extending interiorly thereof to draw air from the interior of the hood and direct the same into the space between the hood shells to admix said air and the gas entering said space through the jet ports and direct said mixture through the mentioned openings in the inner shell and into the interior of the hood.

' ESTHER R. ELDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 818,979 Scheele Apr. 24, 1906 2,052,799 Rifle Sept. 1, 1938 2,063,896 Martin Dec. 15, 1936 2,073,401 Crowley Nov. 9, 1937 2,138,333 Martin Nov. 29, 1938 2,190,168 Armistead Feb. 13. 1940 2,240,857 Pitner "May 6, 1941 2,314,101 Phipps Mar. 16, 1943 

